Through cancer and loss, she chose joy

Danitza Toriz laughs when she remembers telling her surgeon, Dr. Hugo Barrera, that she had been at a Depeche Mode concert past midnight the night before her breast cancer surgery.

“I told Dr. Barrera that I'd been at a concert before my surgery, but I made sure to follow the fasting instructions!” she says. “I was still riding the excitement and happiness from the night.”

It’s that positive, joyful attitude that Danitza says carried her through her diagnosis of Stage 2 breast cancer. It was also evident at the annual Sharp Chula Vista Goes Pink event, held on National Mammography Day to raise awareness of the importance of early breast cancer detection.

“It felt good to be surrounded by fellow survivors, patients currently going through treatment, and the Sharp team that took care of me,” Danitza says.

An unexpected diagnosis

Danitza has worked at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center as a concierge since 2020 and knows firsthand how important regular mammograms are. On October 19, 2023, during a regular appointment, her primary care physician, Dr. Tracy Polanco, reminded Danitza that she was due for her annual screening mammogram.

Danitza took another patient’s canceled appointment that same day. By the end of October, Danitza had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Danitza says her mind was filled with a million thoughts when she ran into Dr. Marilyn Norton at work. “I said, ‘I’m actually going to be your patient in a few weeks!’ I knew I was lucky to have the best team with Dr. Norton as my medical oncologist, Dr. Barrera as my surgeon and Dr. Ruben Carmona as my radiation oncologist.”

Danitza had surgery at Sharp Chula Vista with Dr. Barrera, followed by six rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the Barnhart Cancer Center. On July 10, 2024, she rang the bell marking the end of her treatment.

A legacy of positivity

Throughout her cancer journey, Danitza says she tried to approach each day with the same positivity she saw in her mother during years of illness.

“I saw my mom sick for many years, and she always had a positive attitude,” Danitza says. “I was positive from Day 1.”

That positivity carried Danitza through some especially difficult moments.

After her first chemotherapy treatment, she was hospitalized while her mother was also in the hospital. By the time Danitza reached her final chemotherapy session, her mother’s illness had advanced, and she was back home on hospice care.

“I didn’t want to leave my mom to go to my last chemo session because I knew the end of her life was near, but I went anyway,” Danitza says. “When I returned home, I told her, ‘Mom, I finished chemo. The hardest part is over. All I have left is radiation, and that will be easier. You can go to sleep now.’”

Danitza’s mom passed away at home that day, about an hour after her daughter’s last chemo treatment.

The significance of support

Danitza was very close to her mom and says that her lifelong strength inspired hers. She also credits her husband, Leo, her son, Damian, and a close circle of friends for helping her through treatment.

“Every time I had chemo, I went out with my friends the night before,” she says. “We would go out, talk and laugh.”

Along the way, Danitza says, she had wonderful friends who kept her laughing and moving forward, along with coworkers who shared their own cancer experiences to show their support.

Today, Danitza takes tamoxifen to help prevent the cancer from returning and attends regular scans and follow-up appointments. As time passes, she says her energy is returning, and life is settling into a new normal.

“I’m not the same person I was before cancer,” Danitza says. “Facing cancer while losing my mom changed my perspective on life. My priorities are different now, and I’ve learned to cherish the little things and the people I love. I’m still growing, learning and trying each day to be a better person.”

Learn more about breast cancer; get the latest health and wellness news, trends and patient stories from Sharp Health News; and subscribe to our weekly newsletter by clicking the "Sign up" link below.